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Florida Legislature 2005 (click for ongoing coverage)

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To have or have not a smoky Joe's

Made famous in Key West by Ernest Hemingway, Sloppy Joe's seeks an exception to the state's no smoking rules.

By TAMARA LUSH and CARRIE JOHNSON
Published April 21, 2005

	[AP photo]
	Sloppy Joe's officials in Key West argue they can't add on to the bar-restuarant to create an outdoor smoking area because it is located in the city's downtown historic district.

Sloppy Joe's, best known as Ernest Hemingway's favorite Key West watering hole, is lobbying the Florida Legislature for another distinction: to become the only restaurant in Florida where smoking is legal.

The historic Key West bar wants to sell more food than allowed under Florida's indoor smoking ban.

"We're not prosmoking or antismoking," said Chris Mullins, CEO and president of Sloppy Joe's. "This is all about a fair marketplace."

Florida law forbids smoking in restaurants, defined as any business that gets more than 10 percent of its sales from food. Sloppy Joe's food sales hit 17 percent, so it banned smoking for a while.

The smoking ban, however, cost $500,000 in lost business, Mullins said, so last year it cut back on food sales while its kitchen was renovated and allowed smoking again.

But that didn't help the bottom line either, so Mullins found a couple of legislators willing to help.

A bill working its way through the Legislature would allow bars on the National Register of Historic Places to allow smoking if food sales don't exceed 20 percent.

It's unclear how many bars besides Sloppy Joe's that would affect. The building is in the Key West historic district and has applied for its own historic designation.

While most restaurants could easily renovate to accommodate smokers outdoors, buildings in the district are limited in what they can do, Mullins said.

Rep. Ken Sorensen, R-Key Largo, said he sponsored the bill at Mullins' request. While Sorensen said he supports the indoor smoking ban, he said the 10 percent cap is arbitrary.

"If we can save a historic place for a simple 10 percent, then we ought to do that," Sorensen said.

Sen. Steve Geller, D-Hallandale Beach, sponsored the bill in the Senate because the restaurant's plight appealed to his sense of fairness.

"If they could do what all of their competitors were doing and alter the facade, they would do it," Geller said. "But since they can't, they are at an incredible disadvantage."

Geller said he's not aware of any other bars that would be affected by the bill. "Could we pick up one or two others in Ybor City or St. Augustine?" Geller said. "It's possible, but we don't know of any."

Curt Kiser, a lobbyist for the American Cancer Society, said the proposal clearly violates the wishes of the voters, who approved a smoking ban in 2002 with four exemptions: a person's home, a hotel room, a bar and a smoke shop.

Two other exemptions have since been approved: one allowed smoking in smoking cessation programs and another in airport lounges under the control of the U.S. Bureau of Customs.

Brenda Olsen, assistant CEO of the American Lung Association of Florida, said Sloppy Joe's wants it both ways.

The establishment sold $2-million in food last year and has an extensive menu, including a kids' section featuring chicken fingers and hot dogs, she said.

"Sloppy Joe's needs to make up its mind," Olsen said. "Is it a bar or is it a restaurant?"

Mullins says Sloppy Joe's is a bar that wants to offer food. "I think it's responsible for us to feed our customers," he said.

Mullins said the bar's layout - it has 20-foot-high ceilings and large open windows on two sides - means it isn't filled with smoke.

Sen. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, strongly opposes the bill. If the Legislature creates an exemption for historic buildings it might have to do the same for other structures that can't be easily renovated, he said.

Klein said supporters forget the intent of the smoking ban. "This is all about the health of the people who work there," he said.

The bill has been approved by several committees in both the House and Senate.

There also are Sloppy Joe's in Fort Lauderdale and Treasure Island. Both are franchises, said Mullins, and are more restaurants than bars.

The Key West location is ground zero for an annual Hemingway lookalike contest.

But despite Hemingway's reputation as a womanizer and heavy drinker, he reportedly quit smoking in his mid 20s.

[Last modified April 21, 2005, 01:04:05]